The Difference between Animal and Human Language
In the minds of many today there is nothing particularly unique about humans. We are just animals. Christine Kenneally appeals to hard scientific fact as demonstrating that our supposedly unique qualities are only more sophisticated versions of traits found in the animal world. She describes the human capacity for language as “the last stronghold of human […]
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In the minds of many today there is nothing particularly unique about humans. We are just animals. Christine Kenneally appeals to hard scientific fact as demonstrating that our supposedly unique qualities are only more sophisticated versions of traits found in the animal world. She describes the human capacity for language as “the last stronghold of human uniqueness” and contends that this too has fallen.
She insists that there are non-human animals that feel emotions, empathise with others, abide by moral codes, have personalities and cultures, and possess the ability to design and use tools. Then, rather than treating language as a monolithic whole she follows modern scientists in viewing it as a suite of abilities. See then this way none of the component parts are as unique as the totality.
For example, gesture is no longer considered to be uniquely human. Evidently ape gestures can involve touch, vocalising or eye movement. Individual apes wait till they have another ape’s attention before making visual or auditory gestures. If these are not acknowledge they repeat them or touch the other. Further, orang-utans, for example, have demonstrated that such gestures are not merely innate reflexes but are actually learned and used in a flexible manner indicating voluntary control. Indeed, researchers claim that apes use similar gestures to human babies.
Other researchers claim that baby dolphins babble like pre-linguistic human babies as they,...